Page 54 of Billionaire Lumberjack's Bride

He holds it out to me, the bright-blue parrot on his right hand staring at me. “Drink this.”

I reach up and take it from him carefully, averting my gaze from his. The bitter coffee smell makes me gag slightly, but I need to drink it. “Thank you.”

“You should stay inside today. Your body needs to recover.” He rubs his hand down his bearded jaw, staring out the window toward the side of the property with the barn and animals. “Maybe it was a stupid idea for me to allow you to help…”

“No!” I shift to try to get up, but the coffee almost spills, and I resettle before I make an even bigger ass of myself. “I want to help. Jesus, Silas…” I fight back the tears stinging my eyes—the overwhelming frustration finally starting to boil over. “This place is my home, too, now. Right?”

He gives a reluctant nod.

I swing out my free hand. “What am I supposed to do in here? The only skills I have are that I can stay on my feet for a long time and I don’t give up easily.”

His gaze softens for a moment. “You’re tenacious. I’ll give you that.”

The genuine compliment gives me the slightest hint of hope that he’ll get over his anger at me. “I’m not going to let one stupid night and bad decision stop me from helping you around here. I just need to be more careful.”

“You do.” He grits his jaw, and he shakes his head, releasing a heavy sigh. “You fucking terrified me last night.”

I freeze with the mug halfway to my mouth and glance up at him, but he’s looking away out the window at something else or nothing at all.

What was he so afraid of?

I shouldn’t ask.

IknowI shouldn’t.

But I can’t stop myself from digging for the truth, even when it might hurt.

“Were you afraid you’d lose your bargaining chip with whatever’s going on in your family?”

His head whirls around back to face me, and his jaw tenses again under his heavy beard.

I’ve clearly hit a nerve with my question, and it might be my only chance of really getting the truth about what’s happening with him.

“Are you ever going to tell me what’s going on? Why you needed this marriage in the first place?”

His hands fist at his sides. “You should stay out of things that don’t have anything to do with you, Lyla.”

The reproach should be enough to stop me, but the push and pull, back and forth, hot and cold with him over the last few days, has forced me to the edge. And almost dying and waking in his arms apparently pushed me over it.

I can’t keep going on like this, not understanding why he’s like this or why he’s doing something that clearly hurts him so much.

“But itdoes, doesn’t it, Silas? Ronald said I’m going to have to go with you to some board meeting. What’s this all about?”

“Don’t worry about it until you need to.”

I sit up straighter, trying to show him how annoyed I am with him shutting down. “And when’s that going to be?”

“When I tell you.”

He stalks to the dresser, tugs open a drawer, grabs something, and disappears into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. The sound reverberates through the cabin, making me flinch and almost spill the coffee I have zero desire to drink.

Instead, I wrap my hands tighter around the warm mug and wait for the inevitable hurricane that will come out when he’s done changing.

The bathroom opens again, and Silas storms out in a pair of jeans and a button-down plaid shirt. “Come on, Whiskey.”

The dog reluctantly climbs from my lap and jumps off the bed.

Silas stomps toward the door, tugs on a pair of boots sitting next to it, and yanks it open. He steps out onto the porch, then pauses and turns back toward me. “There are things I’m never going to discuss with you. Things you shouldn’t ask about. I’m not delving into your personal life, and I expect you to give me the same courtesy. I’ll tell you what you need to know when you need to know it.”

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